In the world of do-it-yourselfers, Tim Anderson is a rock star. His 1983 Datsun pickup truck runs on bio-diesel, and he’s not above Dumpster diving. His only income-producing gig at the moment is writing a column for Make magazine about forgotten technology, like using socks as coffee filters and making sandals from old tires. Anderson is a 44-year-old free spirit who lives near San Francisco Bay, where he goes cruising every week in a 30-foot sailboat. He got the vessel for practically nothing after the previous owner abandoned it.

….Eric Wilhelm, the Web site’s CEO, praises Anderson for his creative, idea-spreading generosity.
“One of the terms that Tim taught me is ‘Garbage Santa,'” says Wilhelm. “Garbage Santa comes and brings you all sorts of materials for your projects. One of his favorite things to do is to go to junkyards or trash bins and just find stuff and then re-use it.”

Anderson’s current undertaking is meant to help other do-it-yourselfers with a very ambitious project. He’s working on what he describes as a giant dimmer switch that controls the speed in homemade electric vehicles. And, of course, he’s making the thing out of junk.